Is Quinoa Kosher for Passover?

During the holiday of Passover, the Torah prohibits us from owning or consuming any foods which are chametz or which contain it. Chametz is any food product made of wheat, barley, rye, oats or spelt, or their derivatives, which has leavened (risen) or fermented. Our sages have determined that flour from any of these five grains that comes into contact with water or moisture will leaven unless fully baked within eighteen minutes.

Quinoa is not one of these grains, nor is it related to any of these grains, and is therefore not considered chametz. (Botanically, it is a member of the goosefoot family, which includes beets and spinach.)

Nevertheless, there are two factors which must be taken into consideration with regards to consuming quinoa on Passover:

1) Due to the gravity of the prohibition against chametz, the medieval Ashkenazic rabbis forbade the consumption of kitniyot (lit., “legumes”) on Passover, since they can be confused with the forbidden grains. This includes (but is not limited to): rice, corn, soybeans, stringbeans, peas, lentils, peanuts, mustard, sesame and poppy seeds. This ban was accepted as law by Ashkenazic Jewry.

While some kashrut organization take the position that quinoa need not be added to the kitniyot list, others hold that the prohibition of kitniyot applies to any legume-like produce whose cooked dishes or porridge appear similar to those dishes made out of grain. Accordingly, quinoa would be considered kitniyot.

2) Quinoa is often grown in close proximity to grains which can become chametz, such as barley. (Incidentally, this is one of the reasons given for the original kitniyot ban mentioned above.1) It is also often processed in the same factories as other grains, and the machines may not be adequately cleaned between runs of grain products and quinoa; both of these factors lead to a risk of chametz traces being found in the quinoa. Furthermore, the leading kashrut agencies have recently discovered that some farmers cover their quinoa with barley and/or oats to keep the birds from eating the quinoa while it dries, creating a concern that there may be grain kernels within the packaged quinoa. Finally, the sacks used to transport quinoa may have been previously used to hold barley or oats, which again raises the same concern.

Unlike the first, issue, these concerns can be mitigated through proper supervision.

In light of the above, if you are of Ashkenazic descent and therefore bound by the prohibition of consuming kitniyot on Passover, you should consult with your community rabbi as to whether to treat quinoa as kitniyot or not. And whether you are Ashkenazic or Sephardic, any quinoa would require kosher for Passover certification to ensure that it was carefully kept from contact with barley or other grains (covering all of the various scenarios described above in point 2), and it may be advisable to check the quinoa before Passover for any foreign matter (such as barley) before use, by placing the quinoa on a plate and looking through the grains.

Yehuda Shurpin: Thank you for the reference. But with all due respect, I don't think it's a question of understanding the origins of the customs. Rather, there is a growing realization among modern Jews that some of these customs--those regarding Kitniyot in particular--are unreasonable and illogical. And while it is true that religion should be based on faith, there should at least be a logical self-consistency in our beliefs.

I agree with Melissa. No more matzah balls! Following that reasoning, coffee should be prohibited too because of its similarity to legumes. The "similarity" argument is a slippery slope and could lead to all sorts of ridiculous bans and behavior. Beef is "similar" to pork....maybe we should't eat beef any more. In short, I am against any prohibition that is in place simply to protect people from their own mistakes or the multitude of "what if" possibilities.

ToddChicago

April 10, 2015

is my higher power's will for me to be OCD? is this what the torah, living torah, is about? a rabbi 2000 years ago is not my god nor is a european decision in the middle ages. I'm grateful this question was answered: it is completely a human made custom and decision to not eat quinoa this week. be well and love others—faith in a great big god, not worrying about having enough faith all the time. Gets in the way of being free from shame and free to love others and accept them on their journey. Like Isiah says, 'is this the fast...'?

Anonymous

April 8, 2015

Many many kosher for Passover foods and baked items look like hametz. One of the reasons for the kitniyot prohibition for Ashkenazim is that it is similar to the five grains and can be ground into flour and baked into bread. Using this reasoning, potatoes should also be prohibited. We should also ban all the Pesach cakes and cookies lest one think if it's ok to eat cookies then it's ok to eat chips ahoy cookies made of wheat flour!!! Just because it looks similar to hametz doesn't mean it is hametz!! The major kashrut organizations including the star k and the ou permit approved quinoa for Pesach and as rav Feinstein said we don't add to the kitniyot list. Prohibition of kitniyot is a minhag, a custom, even less than rabbinic.

Albert

April 7, 2015

Matzah balls

By this reasoning matzah balls should be forbidden as they get larger or 'rise' when boiled in the soup

Melissa

April 1, 2015

Hag Sameach...for the past 30 years..i have celebrated Pesach as a raw vegan..no cooked or processed foods for the Hag..spring cleaning..liberation..so many of my mishpocha are constipated after Pesach...Baruch Hashem..i'm free..and flowing..btw..hemp seeds are great source of protein..kol tov

natanhonokaa

March 30, 2015

Yesterday I saw spelt matzos being sold for Passover use. They are totally chametz and yet there they were, in a well known glatt kosher supermarket. Imagine people worrying about eating corn (not specified in the Torah) and then eating spelt. Ignorance.

Anonymouslos angeles

March 30, 2015

"In light of the above, if you are of Ashkenazic descent and therefore bound by the prohibition of consuming kitniyot on Passover, you should consult with your community rabbi as to whether to treat quinoa as kitniyot or not." But this doesn't answer the question...